Recently graduated from university and am looking to join the reserves, the two units I would be interested in joinging are 4 PARA and 7 Rifles, preferably as an officer.

Looked at the 4 PARA site and it didn't say to much about officer training. Would you first of all carry out initial training as a soldier then proceed with commissioning? That being if you first of all pass initial training and P Company and are then deemed good enough to lead?

I applaud your ambition, but I have to ask what you think you have to offer as an officer? Of course you have to do all the training and P Company, else you won't get your wings and maroon beret in the fust place. How can you ask others to suffer unless you have already suffered? You will have to show something really special to become an officer, especially in the Parachute Regiment - TA or not.

Recently graduated from university and am looking to join the reserves, the two units I would be interested in joinging are 4 PARA and 7 Rifles, preferably as an officer.

Looked at the 4 PARA site and it didn't say to much about officer training. Would you first of all carry out initial training as a soldier then proceed with commissioning? That being if you first of all pass initial training and P Company and are then deemed good enough to lead?

Not sure how current that is, but I assume that you would do your MOD1, MOD2, MOD3, then 4 as part of TACC, then go back to 4 PARA and do P Coy. However you could do P Coy anytime after MOD1 depending on the dates.

In simple terms, there are two distinct routes to becoming an officer in 4 Para depending on whether you arrive at the unit commissioned or not.

If you already hold a commission (whether through regular, TA or OTC) and wish to transfer to 4 Para or are a Reg to Reserve transferee then you will be required to pass P Coy before we will accept your transfer. It is done this way due to the previous experience of people transferring over and then failing P Coy, thus creating yet more of an admin burden and also a distinct loss of credibility that arises from an officer bombing out on P Coy in front of the soldiers that they aspire to lead.

The most common route at the moment is for people to commission while in the OTC as the system is set up for this exact purpose. If you then pass Ex AIRBORNE STUDENT which is 2 weeks with the P Coy staff at ITC Catterick culminating in the TA All Arms Pre Para Selection (TA P Coy) then you finish your time at the OTC ready to apply to join 4 Para straight away. This has worked really well for all concerned and provided us with some very high quality junior officers.

If you do not currently hold a commission then you would join as a recruit and undertake recruit training and P Coy. Once you are a trained soldier if you wish to commission you have an interview with the OC and CO, and then enter the officer training system which would involve spending most of your time training at an Officer Training Unit until you commission from RMAS.

It will be worth your while visiting both units and having a good chat with the relevant people about how it works. Note: The relevant person is more likely to be commissioned than the Cpl in the recruiting team, so expect to speak to the recruiting officer (if they have one), OC, 2IC or PSAO.

Thank you very much, sorry for the late reply my graduation ceremony was this week. I don't hold a commission so will have to undertake recruit training, I will also try and visit both units when an opportunity arises.